Bellator President Not Interested In Askren

Ben Askren’s feud with Bellator welterweight champion Rory MacDonald may be confined to Twitter, as it seems Bellator President Scott Coker may not seem interested.

Coker explained why he felt Askren wouldn’t be a great fit during the Bellator 198 press scrum, following the event on April 28th.

“Ben, I don’t really think wants to fight,” Coker said. “I think he wants to fight one more fight and be done with it. That’s what I understand.”

Coker spoke with ONE Championship executives following MacDonald making it clear he wanted a fight with Askren, and it was made clear that Askren wouldn’t be a long term option.

Coker also lauded the depth of the welterweight division heading into the rest of 2018.

“To me, we have a lot of plans for these guys in the 170-pound weight class,” he said. “We’re going to keep everybody busy. We’ve got a big fight for (Michael Page) coming up in London. We’ve got a big fight for (Jon) Fitch and (Paul) Daley in San Jose on May 12.

“We’re going to keep these guys busy. I want fighters that are going to be here fighting.”